


Lady Luck Favors The Daring

by skzstayt (itsmemethalia)



Category: K-pop, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Betrayal, Crow Master Jeongin, Fae & Fairies, Friendship, Gen, Ghosts, Half- Siren Seungmin, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Magical Accidents, Magical Tattoos, Not Beta Read, POV Multiple, Short Chapters, Spell Crafter Witch Jisung, Witches, passive voice misuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:40:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29092176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsmemethalia/pseuds/skzstayt
Summary: They say before you embark on a journey of revenge you should dig two graves. One for your enemy and one for yourself.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Seo Changbin
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue- District 9

_It is a cold winter night when it happens. Maybe a little before the Coven abandoned District 9. No one remembers precisely the when or the how but they all agree that the moon was lower than usual that night and the stars were nowhere to be seen. Crows swarm the stone square their black eyes shining like the beads Shadow Witches wear on their wrists and necks._

_Jeongin, a fifteen-year-old boy, heard their mournful song from all the way to the stables and rushed into the square as fast as his feet could carry him. At first glance, the boy looks normal. Maybe a little too skinny and a little too dirty but normal. But if you keep looking you'll eventually notice the moving tattoos on his skin. Tattoos of runes, strange words in forgotten languages, and intricate patterns peek through his ragged clothes and then disappear again in seconds._

_The townspeople know him well. Not because of his moving tattoos or his bare feet even in the middle of winter, no, it's not that. They know him as the boy that sells prophecies to the Fae._

_He's not a Seer, no. Even in this world full of the unnatural Seers are near impossible to come by. He speaks the tongue of the crows and the crows always speak in prophecies. Prophecies the Fae are very interested in but can't hear with their own ears. Instead, they seek out the help of people like Jeongin. They call them Crow Masters._

_Crow Masters are rare and their existence is abnormal. They are powerful spells that took physical form. Usually, they live with the spell crafter that created them but the boy is always alone when he wanders the streets and no one knows where he goes when night falls._

_He reaches the square in no time his shoulders heaving as he panted. Pushing his blonde hair out of his eyes he touched one of the tattoos on his collarbones muttering an incantation at the same time. A metal bucket full of blood appeared on his hands startling the people closest to him. The crows seemed to enjoy the smell of blood flying near the boy their chattering and eerie song becoming alacritous. The boy sets the bucket on the ground some of the birds helping themselves to the treat inside. He takes a deep breath and his brown eyes shine silver the strange song of the crows turning into human rhymes in his head._

_They are singing of an unjust death. They are singing of murder._

_He closes his eyes and sings with them. A melodic voice intertwining with raucous underworldly sounds. And those who are listening finally understand. The stars are missing from the sky today because they are mourning. They are mourning one of their own._

_The boy sings with the birds for hours and hours and at the break of dawn, he grabs the bucket now empty of blood and leaves. The crows leave too and they don't come back for many years._

Established beside a lake, District 9 was home to all sorts of peculiar people and mythical creatures lead by the Coven. This town wasn't built by a lake by accident, as it has healing properties, which was of great importance to the people of District 9 and its success. The town itself looks picturesque. With its red-tiled rooftops, sandstone walls, and rich flora and fauna, the District has an inviting atmosphere.

The main attraction is the old castle, which was built 200 years ago and designed by the famous ghost pirate crew, Azeez. Chan was only 70 years old back then, barely a fledgling witch. Felix was even younger. They haven't seen them again since. Back then the District was prosperous with a booming economy supported by herbalism, baking and carpeting, and wine brewing. But their biggest strengths lied and still do in the arts of shadows. In Magic. Spells, charms, potions, blessings, jinxes, hexes, or even curses. You can find all kinds of magic experts in this town. Well, you could. Once upon a time.

Once upon a time when pirate after pirate ship stopped at this port to buy spells and wine and curses. Back when fairies and vampires and shapeshifters roamed these streets looking for magic solutions to their various problems.

Back when the Coven cared for the people it governed.

Now the things the witches were allowed to make and sell are so limited it's almost impossible to make enough money to live comfortably. A town that was once occupied by the best witches of the country and served as a home for all the strays of society was now abandoned and only a handful of them remained. Even the Coven moved its base somewhere else. Even though they were the sole reason for this failure. It was them that turned a lively colorful city into a dull and restrictive ghost town.

There is a dense forest surrounding the city of District 9, home to many mysterious and otherwordly things. It has served the townspeople as both a blessing and a curse. It is a gold mine for the witchy and peculiar but a sure grave for those who didn't have the means or the guts to deal with the whims of the ancient dangers that prowled. Perhaps one of the most known dangers was the re-emerging swamps. Swamps are forested wetlands, home to dangerous animals and insects. Usually, these facts serve as enough of a warning for most people to avoid them but there are even more reasons to do so in District 9's forest. Here the swamps move. Disappearing and re-emerging at random times and in random places as if the murky water has a will of its own. It does.

Chan knows of the resentful spirits in the swamps since he was a child. Minho talks about them often. Minho taught him how to find them and more importantly how to use them. He was against it at first. Chan is a Light Witch and Minho is a Shadow one. Shadow spells and practices lash back at him and hurt him, unlike Minho who can comfortably chat with the shadows demons leave behind. But all Chan sees in his dreams is red and he knows that there is no way to cheat death with Light Magic. The Shadows hurt him, they attack him and burn him and the pain breaks him again and again but he has to learn. It's the only way and Minho, magic bless him, doesn't flinch when he screams.

Felix cries and begs him to stop but Chan doesn't listen. And the younger one keeps crying every time he comes back exhausted with new scars and his magic unstable from using it in the way it's not meant to be used. The unstable magic makes him irascible and aggressive and it creates a rift between the brothers. And Felix keeps trying to make him stop but he needs to do this. It breaks his heart to hurt his brother like that but he can't find the right words to make him understand but he has to do this.

And so he learns. He learns how to find the swamps and summon the spirits of the drowned to make them do his bidding. And every time he grows more and more numb to the pain and the scars on his skin stop bothering him. And then Minho leaves the town when the Coven does and the day his teachings prove useful arrives.

Chan was a fool to think that the coven had forgotten about them. He was a fool and that's why they are caught unprepared when the assassin breaks into their home. He was sleeping peacefully in his room above the bakery he and Felix owned when a figure appears in the room out of thin air. The assassin doesn't make a sound He is not even breathing. It's not him that wakes Chan. It's a sudden and gripping fear he feels that startles him out of sleep. The second he opens his eyes he knows Felix is dead.

The assassin doesn't a chance. He's a pile of ash in a matter of minutes. Still, he didn't make a sound as he was burning. Chan reigns in his panic and grief, he's been waiting for this day for years. He's been preparing for it.

He gets up and goes to retrieve his brother's corpse. He drags the body towards the forest, ignoring the stares of a group of vampires that were probably coming back from a hunt. He needs to be fast and find the swamps before Felix's soul leaves his body. He doesn't let himself think anything else other than the incantations and spells he has to use. He can't afford to make a mistake now.

It doesn't take him long to find the swamps. There are spirits already waiting for him, they like to see him suffer but right now Chan is grateful he won't have to waste time summoning them. He takes out a handful of black beads. Minho calls them the pearls of the underworld. All Shadow Witches have them but no one other than them knows where to find them. Chan plans to trap the spirits inside the beads. They seem to realize that judging by the panic in their creepy faces but it's too late. He's already started chanting. They disappear one by one and the beads start gleaming like the pupils of living creatures. He feeds them to Felix's dead body and that's when the consequences of his actions hit him.

His face starts cracking open right under his eyes. The pain is unlike anything he has ever felt and he can't swallow down his sobs. The spell is not done yet, he needs to carry on.

He whispers a spell to delay the bleeding and braces himself for a long walk. It takes him three hours to carry Felix to the lake the town is built around. He dives in with the body and uses magic to reach the bottom. He buries him there with a spell.

When he goes back home Felix is there. He is no longer a Witch. He is a ghost now, skin unnaturally pale and feet not touching the ground. But his eyes shine the same way and his smile carries the same warmth as always. It's enough to make Chan forget the pain he is in.

“You can disagree,” the ghost says, “But I think that went well”. Chan lets out a hysterical laugh that turns into loud sobs in seconds.

The ghost of his brother runs his fingers through his hair and gently touches his face uncaring of the blood. Chan barely feels the touch. It feels more like cold air than a human touch but Felix doesn't seem bothered by it so Chan lets it go.

“I'm sorry, Chan,” the Star Witch says, “I was caught off guard”. Chan can only continue to cry. 

_50 years later_

“ Happy Winter Solstice-” BANG !!! There is the rattling noise of several metallic things falling on top of each other and to the floor.

“Everything is fine!” comes Seugmin's voice from the top floor of the bakery shop. Chan blinks a couple of times in quick succession trying really hard not to start yelling at his apprentice in front of the only customer the two witches have had all day.

“Happy Winter Solstice” he repeats as if he didn't hear anything.

The fairy, bless her ancient heart, smiles sympathetically at him. “Not much to be happy about in this town, Chan” she shrinks herself and her purchases as she speaks to barely the size of Chan's palm.

“But thank you” her voice resonates in Chan's mind as he watches her fly out of the open window. He hates it when Faeries speak through mind links, it feels so invasive even though he knows, in reality, it isn't.

The Winter Solstice is nearing and the two witches are busier with their orders than usual. Still, nothing like it used to be when Chan was a young witch. But it has Seungmin very excited and it's cute to witness.

Seungmin is a very young witch, only 19 years old. A literal child compared to Chan who's nearing 100. He arrived in District 9 a few months ago looking to apprentice somewhere. Chan tried to send him to try his luck somewhere that would have been more beneficial for him but the baby witch clung to Chan and refused to let go. Chan knows he is scared. He can see under Seungmin's glamour spell. He knows the boy is a halfling. He knows how much people hate and fear creatures like him. 

Chan is grateful the baby Witch chose him as a teacher but he is also worried. 

Seungmin is putting a lot of work into the winter solstice preparations. He's extra careful with his spells and he's trying out new ones too. He is hoping to gain a few more regulars with his special happy-memories muffins. The child thinks in such pure ways it makes his heart ache. It reminds him so vividly of how Felix used to be.

Chan doesn't have the heart to tell him it's hopeless. He doesn't have the heart to tell him that the new shadow people he's been seeing on the streets are not new residents. They are only there to see their old homes and maybe a couple of old friends and they'll be gone again in two weeks.

He sees Seugmin earnestly weaving spells in his baked goods every morning with a happy gleam in his eyes and can't bear to tear his hopes apart.

Chan takes a look around the shop. It's nice and traditional, made of wood and sandstone like every other house in the town. Small rectangular windows, randomly placed, allow natural light to enter the bakery and warm the space. The top floor is equipped with a kitchen where all the magic happens, a small bathroom, and a living room that doubles as their bedroom. It's not much but it's home.

His eyes travel to the display cases. They really did a little better than usual today. Chan smiles as he starts spelling the goods to remain fresh. He doubts they are gonna sell all of it today.

Despite feeling himself growing weaker each day from the lack of fellow witches around him he can't bring himself to leave this town. This is where his brother is buried after all. And this is the town Felix's ghost walks at night. Chan will never leave him behind.

He sneaks a glance at Seungmin again. It seems there are still a few strays around here that need him. He won't leave them behind either.

Despite its strengths and weaknesses, District 9 is most likely headed towards a bleak future under the faraway leadership of the Coven.

But this remains to be seen. After all, it's still standing.

In a dark windowless room, a Shadow Witch opens his eyes after decades of having them closed. Lady Nemesis is calling and he desperately wants to answer. 


	2. Chapter 2

_15 years before Felix's murder_

Minho knows the feeling of fear well. It awakes inside him in the most inconvenient moments and wraps tightly around his heart. Fear is like weeds, Minho thinks. You keep trying to remove it and yet it keeps growing where it is not wanted. 

A little like him.

The thought sparks amusement in him.

_If fear had a physical form it would look a lot like you_ , one of the many echoing voices in his head added.  _A cadaverous boy whose appearance is closer to a demon's than to a human's,_ a different one agreed. 

Minho hummed in acknowledgment. There was no use arguing with the spirits of stubborn Shadow Witches and they were mostly echoing his own thoughts anyway.

He knows fear well not only because he feels it often but because he is the cause of it just as often. People keep a distance from him when he walks around town, they approach him tentatively when they have to and they can never look him in the eyes.

When he was younger he thought it was his appearance that turned people away. He thought it was his hollow cheeks or his ebony pupilless eyes that unnerved those around him. Or maybe it was the horns growing on his head or perhaps the spirits of dead witches following him everywhere back when he didn't know how to keep them inside his brain and they would constantly escape. Most people thought he was eating them. Now he knows it wasn't his looks that frightened people.

It was him as a being. A Shadow Witch. A pure Shadow Witch. A crackle in the void. A hellish being of chaos. He, like all Shadow Witches, came to exist only because the goddess Nyx willed it so.

The great goddess created him and then dumped him in the hands of a family in District 9. A family that is tolerating him in fear of the goddess and in fear of him too. He doesn't blame them or resent them for it though, he agrees.

In this world, he is the most unnatural of beings.

He couldn't change people's hearts through good deeds so he poured himself into his magic. He studied everything and anything the town had to offer on magic and made himself into one of the most capable Shadow Witches of the era. All by himself.

Magic Shops refuse to hire him. Sometimes their excuses are his lack of an apprenticeship and other times they are blatant in their distaste of him.

He's made his peace with it. For all the people that fear him, many need him. They seek him out in dark alleys and sketchy shops and ask him for help their eyes darting around afraid to be seen with him.

But they pay him and it gets his name circling, and that's enough for him.

It took years and years of hard work to make himself a powerful Shadow Witch. They all refuse to look him in the eyes, they don't hire him in their shops and they don't greet him on the streets but at least he has their acknowledgment of his skills. And he keeps telling himself that that's enough.

It was a matter of time for him to appear on the Coven's radar. He was lucky it was Chan that was sent to approach him.

And now they have assigned him his first mission: Recruit the Spell Crafter Han Jisung. Easier said than done. Minho knows Jisung or rather it would be more correct to say he knows of Jisung. Everyone in town knows of him. The prodigy Spell Caster that everyone likes because of his friendliness and talent. He probably didn't have any issues getting a Magic Shop to hire him if the rumors are to be believed.

“ _Hate him_ ” the bitter voice of a spirit whispers, “ _He has everything you don't_ ”. He has to remind himself that the voices are the thoughts of spirits long gone and not his own.

He ignores it and keeps walking. He's been searching for SpellRhyme&Trinkets, the shop the Spell Caster is rumored to work at, for the better part of an hour. It's hard to find despite its popularity which proves its humble beginnings.

Minho realizes he is near when he sees a couple of young Potion Master Witches walking with scrolls in their hands. He can smell the herbal scent on their skin from the opposite side of the street and he knows that a)potion masters are incapable of spell crafting and yet they often need spells for their potions to work hence why they are precious customers to Spell Crafters and b) Spell Crafters create spells and write them in enhanced scrolls so that the spells will be effective only once. They can of course create spells that will last for hundreds of years but the scroll system allows them to monitor who uses their spells and for what reason.

“ _You are boring us to death, Minho_ ”, Kaz informs him. The only spirit that told him his name. “ _And we are already dead_ ”, a childlike voice adds. He doesn't dignify them with a response.

He decides to follow the scent of the Potion Masters in the opposite direction from which they were going hoping to stumble upon the shop somewhere along the way he's tracking.

After twenty minutes of more walking, he finally finds it. It is smaller than he expected but clean and organized. A round wooden sign with the shop's name hangs from the door, the walls are made from sandstone like most buildings in the area and they are packed with selves made of the same wood the sign was filled with all kinds of things you would expect to find in a Magic Shop like charms, magic boosters, potions and scrolls imbued with the Spell Caster's magic with frequently requested spells written into them.

His eyes travel to the fun corners of the shop where hexes, jinxes, and curses are laid out. He notes that some of them are of his own making and tries not to let it get to him. He doesn't recall working with anyone from this shop so they must have come to him anonymously too ashamed to be associated with a freak like him.

“ _Ooops, it got to him_ ”, the childlike voice giggles. “ _This place needs a repaint and what's with all the random plans_?”, Kaz tries to comfort him. It's the nicest thing he's done all month and it makes him smile despite himself. “ _Hey! I'm nice all the time,_ ” he protests.

Kaz is right, the shop is filled with greenery. Countless plants and vines hang from the ceiling covering the ornately decorated plafond and painting a beautiful picture. Some lights are spelled to sign like tiny green suns, clearly the work of a Light Witch. There are long wooden tables placed around the large space filled with trinkets, crystals, and other products. Minho hates how impressed he is when he hasn't even met the Witches working here.

Some of the plants block the full view of the main desk where he assumes the Witch he's looking for is. He decides to stop staring creepily from the window and actually get in and ask to talk to the Spell Crafter Witch.

There is a small dinging sound as he steps in but it doesn't catch anyone's attention. He hears Han Jisung before he sees him.

“Ma'am I'm telling you I'm not a Hex Crafter, I can't create a spell to make your husband's...erm...sensitive parts fail every time he's in the mood,” the boy exclaims gesturing wildly with his hands. His cheeks and neck are flushed, blonde hair shining under the green light.

The woman doesn't seem to believe him, “Don't give me that shit, Han Jisung”, she grabs him by the collar, “I know for a fact you are not the innocent little Spell Crafter you are pretending to be,” she snarls, “I know what you are so do your goddamn job and make me a fucking Hex,” she almost spits at the poor boy's face. The boy doesn't seem to know how to handle the situation his eyes shining with yet to fall tears. Minho is feeling generous today so he takes it upon himself to help him.

“If it's a Hex you need I can help you with that,” he says his eerie voice startling the both of them. The woman loses her attitude the second she lays her eyes on him. She pales and takes a few steps back in an attempt to put more distance between them. “Huh, typical,” Kaz says reflecting Minho's own thoughts accurately.

The boy on the other hand looks more startled than scared. He goes around his desk and actually dares to grab Minho by the shoulders. “Oh, gods! I'm so sorry, sir!” he yells while shaking him, “I didn't hear you come in, I swear I wasn't trying to be rude! This crazy lady has been talking my ears off for half an hour now and I didn't hear the bell, I'm so sorry!” he explained

It was Minho's turn to be startled. Not many people look at him in the eyes aside from Chan and Felix. And not many people put their hands on him so casually. He's never been this speechless ever.

It's in that moment the woman recovers from her shock, “You can't help me,” she hisses “It's not a Curse I want, demon” she turns to the boy “Your boss is going to hear about this, Crafter” she snaps and almost runs out of the door.

The boy lets go of him and lets himself fall on the ground “Gods, she's exhausting,” he whispers. Minho raises an eyebrow “Are you gonna be alright, kid?” he asks. The boy jumps back on his feet and offers him a dazzling smile “I'm not a kid and yeah Jinyoung won't be mad at me for this” he says.

Minho assumes Jinyoung is the boy's boss but he is so weirded out by a stranger smiling at him he doesn't reply. It must have shown on his face too because the boy's expression dulls “But he will be mad at me for making you wait for so long” he adds. He comes to stand in front of him again but this time he doesn't touch him.

He still looks at him in the eyes, though.

He shifts his weight from side to side for a few seconds but he finds his courage quickly, “Welcome to SpellRhyme&Trinkets” he extends his right hand to him “I'm Spell Crafter Witch Han Jisung, how may I help you today” he said.

Minho shakes the offered hand a foreign emotion bubbling up in his chest. He quickly shuts it down. “Shadow Witch Lee Minho, pleased to make your acquaintance” he smiles, actually smiles, sharp canines on show.

Jisung doesn't shy away at the sight of his sharp teeth but something behind Minho draws his eyes. There is a visible disruption of space like ripples in water and a boy materializes in front of them. He's tall and long and incredibly handsome. The only flaws are the dark horns peeking out from his blond hair and the pupilless silver eyes.

“Erm...is this someone you know?” he asks.

They look at him stupified for a few seconds Minho taking note of the luxurious-looking clothing the boy wears when it suddenly hits him. They are looking at a Shadow Witche's spirit. A ghost. One of those that live in his head to be exact.

At some point during his visit to the shop Minho lost control for long enough to allow a spirit guide to escape the prison of his mind. Now the spirit is going to follow him around everywhere he goes and people are going to be even more freaked out by him like when he was a kid and had twenty guide spirits following him because he didn't know how to trap them.

The spirit seems to know what he is thinking if the sad way he smiles at him is any indication. “Of course he does,” Kaz says, “He's lived in your head for more than a decade,”. The boy's mouth doesn't move but Minho still hears his voice.

“ _There is something I need to do, I'll be back,”_ he says and floats out the door before Minho can think to ask for his name. The spirit is walking to permanent death. There is no way he can survive without Minho's magic for more than a few hours. Minho knows he shouldn't care. Technically the boy is already dead and there are more than a dozen spirits still in his head but the thought of him disappearing fills him with dread.

Minho doesn't answer Jisung's earlier question. He simply turns to him and says “Well, crap”.

**Author's Note:**

> I think it's clear I'm struggling with English. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments!   
> The next chapter is focused on Minho and Jisung. See you next Saturday!! :)


End file.
